You're Not Alone
by Kristen3
Summary: Sequel to "Phone Call From the Past." Faced with a devastating diagnosis, Rhoda accepts Mary's offer to return to Minneapolis. Can being reunited with her best friend help her cope with her situation? Written as a tribute to the wonderful Valerie Harper.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **I hope nobody hates me for writing this story. Ever since I heard the terrible news about Valerie Harper's diagnosis, I've wanted to write a tribute. I know that I'm basically killing off a character that people love. I wouldn't be doing this, except that I just felt like it needed to be done. This is obviously not a one-shot, but it won't be very many chapters. I do have a vague idea where it's going, so I hope to have it finished pretty quickly. Reviews are appreciated!

Rhoda had been dreading this phone call. She'd put it off for the past few days, but she couldn't do that anymore. She'd always prided herself on being independent, but this was one thing she simply couldn't handle alone.

Taking a deep breath, Rhoda picked up the phone. For an instant, she remembered a moment from years ago. She had been in New York then, too. She had called Mary with the news that Joe had proposed. Of course Mary had been excited for her best friend. Even though the marriage hadn't worked out, Rhoda could still feel the excitement she'd felt back then. She'd give anything to go back to that right now. She wished her fingers would stop shaking as she dialed. The phone rang twice. Rhoda was nowhere near ready to speak when Mary answered. "Hello?"

Rhoda sighed. "Hi, kid. It's me."

Mary smiled at once. It had been a month since Rhoda had re-entered Mary's life via a phone call. Though, at the time, they had made plans to see each other, Rhoda's art exhibit had gotten in the way, and Mary's hectic job at one of Minneapolis' top news stations didn't exactly help matters. But there had been plenty of phone calls and promises to visit as soon as their schedules permitted. As with all the other calls, Mary had to remind herself that it wasn't 1974 anymore. The mere mention of her best friend's name conjured up a thousand memories. "I'm glad you called," Mary said. "You won't believe what happened to me at work today -"

Rhoda once again took a deep breath. She loved Mary to death, but she just couldn't listen to whatever her problem was right now. "I've got to be honest, Mare, I called you for a reason. It's kind of important."

"Oh," Mary said, a bit disappointed. "OK, then."

"You know how, after my art exhibit, I said I wasn't feeling well? I thought it was just all those late nights and caffeine finally catching up to me. But Brenda said it could be something more serious, so I decided to go to the doctor, just to make her feel better. I guess my little sister was right."

"Oh, Rhoda...what is it?" Mary's voice broke.

This was the part Rhoda had been dreading. She wasn't even sure she could say the word. But she'd come this far, so she had no choice. "It's cancer. Inoperable."

"No," Mary said, as if by simply refusing the diagnosis, she would change the situation.

"I made them re-do the tests a dozen times, Mare. They all came back the same."

"Oh, Rhoda." Mary didn't know what else to say. But after the initial shock wore off, she spoke again. "You'll come out here." It wasn't a question.

"I can't do that. I mean, my life is here..."

Mary was not about to take "no" for an answer. "I want to help you. Either I can go there, or you can come here. There is no way I'm letting you do this alone."

For a split second, Rhoda recalled their first meeting. Back then, she'd thought Mary didn't have a backbone at all. How wrong she'd been! "OK. I guess...I guess I'll go out there." She couldn't believe she'd agreed to this. But perhaps a change of scenery would do her good. Most of the bad things in her life had happened in New York. Moving to Minneapolis had helped her once before, and right now, she didn't have much left to lose.


	2. Chapter 2

Rhoda could hardly believe she'd agreed to this as she stepped off the plane. But it felt good to be going back to a place that held good memories. Sometimes she thought they were the only good ones in her life. But she couldn't think like that now. Rhoda looked around, hoping she would see Mary. At first, she didn't, and a wave of disappointment hit. Just what she needed, on top of her diagnosis. But then she saw her. An instant later, Rhoda felt herself being pulled into a tight hug. She wasn't usually the type to enjoy such open displays of emotion. It came from her New York upbringing. But right now, that hug was just what she needed.

When they finally let go, Rhoda immediately recognized the look on her best friend's face. "That's the same look I've seen on my sister's face for the past week. Please, don't make a big deal about this. I don't think I'm ready for that yet."

"Fair enough," Mary said. She looked Rhoda up and down. "You look...wonderful."

Rhoda rolled her eyes. "All these years, and you still can't tell a lie. It's nice to know that _some_ things haven't changed."

Mary smiled. She saw a bit of the old Rhoda coming out. It was a relief. "I'm glad to see you, no matter the circumstances."

"Me, too. I always meant to come back here, you know. But one thing led to another, and, well..." She shrugged.

"Let's not talk about that," Mary said. "I thought about going to New York a few times, too. I just..." None of her reasons for not staying in touch seemed valid anymore. "Maybe we better not talk about that. Let's just get you home, and then we can figure out what to do."

Rhoda could sense that Mary hadn't really accepted the situation. As always, she was going to put on a brave face. For now, it felt good to have a distraction. But she knew eventually, they would need to talk about it. Mary could do a lot of things, but even she couldn't make this go away.

As they got into Mary's car, Mary forced a smile at Rhoda. She was determined to focus on the fact that she had her best friend back in her life. That was what mattered. Above all, Mary wanted her friend to know she was loved. Mary knew firsthand just how much friendship and love could do for a person. She'd seen it almost from the very moment she'd first walked into WJM-TV's newsroom. She took her time driving home from the airport. Mary wanted Rhoda to see some of the sights in the city she'd left so long ago. They drove past the huge Mall of America, and even saw the location of the apartment building where they used to live. It looked totally different now, but even so, the memories flooded back to both of them as soon as they saw it.

"We sure had some good times there, didn't we?" Rhoda asked.

Mary nodded. "We did. And we're going to have more good times now. I promise you."

Rhoda took a deep breath. How could Mary be so optimistic? Didn't she understand what "terminal" meant? But she didn't want to have that conversation yet. Instead, she merely nodded. It didn't seem to dampen Mary's mood a bit.

Mary finally drove them both back to her apartment. She'd moved several times now since she'd left that small studio apartment. Though she was able to afford much nicer places now, she always held a special place in her heart for that first one. Not only because it was where she and Rhoda met, but because it was the first time in her life Mary got to be independent and start to make her own way in the world.

"Nice place," Rhoda said as she entered. "Still neat as a pin, I see."

Mary shrugged. She knew she sometimes went a bit overboard with her organization, but it just made things so much easier.

There was an awkward silence for a moment. Mary once again forced a smile and squeezed Rhoda's hand. "I'm glad you're here."

Mary helped Rhoda unpack her things and make herself comfortable. Though Rhoda didn't really have much to say, Mary was still reminded of old times. There was something that felt right about the two of them being under one roof again. Once Rhoda was all unpacked, she told Mary that she was tired and wanted to take a nap. Mary understood and left to give her friend some privacy. Tomorrow, they could discuss what to do next.


	3. Chapter 3

Rhoda wound up being more tired than she'd realized, thanks to a combination of jet-lag and her illness. She didn't wake up until the next day. Unfortunately, Mary's relentless cheerfulness remained. "Morning!"

Rhoda had never been a morning person, and the years after they lost touch had done nothing to change that. "Um, yeah, morning." She yawned. Then she noticed Mary had a large stack of papers in front of her on the kitchen table. "What's all that?"

"You're in luck! I remembered that one of the reporters at my station did a piece on cancer last year. I dug through my old records, and found the names and numbers of some oncologists here in Minneapolis. I thought maybe we could try calling them and maybe set up a few appointments for you."

Rhoda felt her mind begin to clear. The conversation she'd been dreading was about to happen. There was no way to avoid it now. She sat down across from her best friend. "I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I've already been to the doctor. Several times, in fact."

"I know that," Mary replied. "But it never hurts to get a second opinion."

"This would actually be more like a _sixth_ opinion. And the first five were all the same." Rhoda said the words matter-of-factly.

"So that's it? You're just giving up?" Mary asked in disbelief. "That's not like you!" Mary had never known her friend to back down from a challenge.

Rhoda shrugged. "Look, kid, I don't like this any more than you do. It's like when we were single. Neither of us liked it, but what choice did we have?"

"Yeah, but -"

Rhoda reached out to cover her best friend's hand with her own. "I love you for doing all of this, really. And I know you like to think you can fix everyone's problems. But this isn't like one of your bad parties, Mare. No one's going to be laughing about it in a few years."

Mary sighed. Everything Rhoda had said was true. It was a habit with her, whenever a friend was hurting, she always tried to do all she could to help. Most of the time, she succeeded. That's what friends do. But Mary was beginning to understand that no amount of love in the world could change Rhoda's situation, no matter how much she might want to. "I just...don't want to lose you," she said softly.

Rhoda smiled. "Look, I'm not gone yet, so let's not get ahead of ourselves here. I didn't come here so you could fix me. I came because I needed to leave New York. Again." She sighed. "I love Brenda, but if I stayed, I know she would've been watching me like a hawk, just waiting for me to keel over. The poor kid's terrified of this whole thing. Who can blame her? Ma and Pop are gone now, so she figures she's next in line. I figured you might at least still be able to treat me like a normal person. Plus, I figure we've got some lost time to make up."

Mary nodded. "You're right. I promise, no more talk about doctors, or treatment plans, or...you know...death." She tried to smile, but it didn't quite stick.

Rhoda squeezed her hand. "Thanks." Somehow, they both knew Rhoda was talking about more than just this present conversation.


	4. Chapter 4

After Mary went to bed that night, Rhoda enjoyed the quiet. She really did like this place, even if Mary's organization was a bit much for her. Just looking around, she saw a lot of details that only Mary would've thought of. Her famous "M" hung on the wall. Rhoda recognized it immediately as the same one that had hung in that first studio apartment. She realized then that Mary's life since then might not have gone quite as she'd planned. Of course, Rhoda's hadn't, either, but she had never been one to expect miracles. The thought made Rhoda sad in a way, which was strange considering her own situation.

Mary was such a wonderful person, always caring about her friends. Over the years when life had kept them apart, Rhoda kept hoping that Mary wound up finding a man who would appreciate her and give her the life she deserved. _Mary should've had kids_, she suddenly thought. _She would've been a great mom._ Rhoda doubted she herself would've been a good mother. After all, genetics was hardly in her favor. Without warning, a vivid image appeared in her mind: Ida Morgenstern. She stood less than five feet tall, but she certainly made sure she was never ignored! Rhoda liked to think that was the one good thing she'd gotten from her mother.

Suddenly, Rhoda felt an urge to go back in time. And she was in the perfect place to do it, because no one was more sentimental than Mary. If anyone would've saved reminders of her past, it would be Mary. Without even giving a thought to her friend's privacy, Rhoda found a closet. It was not hard to find a box filled with photo albums. There were a few which were filled with pictures from Mary's childhood. Though she did not look at those photos for long, Rhoda did notice once again how different their lives had been growing up. Mary's small Midwestern town was nothing like New York. There were pictures of Mary in high school – more evidence of Mary's supposed "perfect" life. Rhoda quickly put that album away.

The next one she found was what she'd been looking for. Immediately she recognized a photo of that first apartment. The sight nearly made Rhoda cry. She could even remember the moment perfectly. Rhoda had convinced Mary to invite a couple of guys over for dinner. Mary had called up a man she'd known before she'd moved to Minneapolis. He turned out to be obsessed with Mary. Rhoda, meanwhile, decided to call a man that she'd accidentally hit with her car. Much to Rhoda's horror, the man had shown up with his wife! Rhoda vaguely remembered Mary's date, Howard Arnell, having a camera and insisting on taking a photo to remember the occasion.

Rhoda moved on through the album. As she'd expected, pictures of Lou, Murray and Ted were frequent. Rhoda cringed when she saw Phyllis in a few of the pictures. Though Rhoda missed those days dearly, she was grateful that Phyllis was no longer in her life. Continuing to flip through the album, she saw something that she'd never seen or known about before. In one of the pages was a letter from Rhoda's mother – to Mary. Rhoda was astonished to read her mother's words.

_Dear Mary, _

_I just wanted to thank you again for letting me stay with you. I wish you would've at least let me pay you! I'm going to tell you something now, and I don't want you to breathe a word of it to my daughter. Because I know if Rhoda ever knew, she'd never let me hear the end of it. No matter what Rhoda tells you, I know that _I'm_ the reason she left New York. I've given her plenty of guilt over leaving, as well as being single at her age (I know you're the same age, but you're not __my__ daughter, so it's all right!). But here's the part you've got to keep a secret: I'm proud of my daughter for having the guts and independence to do what she needed to do._

Ever since she moved, I've been so worried about her. You can even ask Rhoda's father! She never calls me, so I have no idea what's going on in her life most of the time. That was why I decided I had to go and visit her. I just wanted to see how she was doing. When she did bother to call me, she mentioned there was someone new in the apartment directly below her. She told me you were a pretty shiksa_ (that's a non-Jewish woman, by the way), but she didn't say much else. I gathered you two had become friends, and I wondered what kind of people my daughter was hanging out with in Minneapolis. _

_Now that I've met you, I can rest much easier. I can see that you're a good influence on her already. I imagine that being all alone so far away from family isn't easy, but I'm glad she has someone like you to help her. _

_Having said all of that, Mary, I wonder if I could ask just one __small__ favor: Could you drop me a line once in a while and let me know what Rhoda's up to? _

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Mrs. Morgenstern (Ma)_

By the time Rhoda reached the bottom of the letter, she could barely make out the words through her tears.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **I know this isn't really the best ending I've ever written, but I don't think anybody wants to actually read about what we know is going to happen here. Sometime down the line, I may come back to do a sequel. But I feel like, for now, this is a good place to leave it. :)

Rhoda was so lost in her memories of her mother that she didn't even hear Mary approaching. "Rhoda, what are you doing? Is everything all right?"

Rhoda looked up at her friend, nodding. Tears filled her eyes. "I just had this sudden urge to go back. Not to New York, but to then." She pointed to a picture taken at one of Mary's infamous parties.

Mary smiled as she helped Rhoda up. They walked over to Mary's couch and sat down. "I know what you mean. Sometimes I look at my life now and wonder, how did I end up here?"

"How did you?" Rhoda asked. "I mean, why don't you have pictures of a husband or children here? I always thought you'd find some rich, handsome guy and live that fairytale you always wanted."

Mary sighed. "I don't know. I guess life just got in the way. After I left WJM, and saw what a _real_ newsroom is like, I realized I loved my job. Not just the people I knew at WJM, but the actual work of putting on a news show. Once I realized that, dating just didn't seem so important anymore. I mean, sure, there were times I would've liked to have someone to come home to, but I'm not unhappy with the way things turned out."

"Yeah, my life hasn't been so bad, either," Rhoda said. "Until...you know..." She smiled. "After Joe, I just didn't think marriage was really worth it. Don't get me wrong, there were parts of it I liked." Her knowing grin left little doubt as to which parts she was referring to. "But the fighting and being left, I could've done without those."

Mary laughed. "Who would've thought you and I would still be here, both of us single, no children? This was _definitely_ not what I planned!"

Rhoda shrugged. "I don't think anybody's life ends up being what they planned. But we both had some good times, and I guess that's all we can ask for. Or at least it's all _I_ can ask for."

Mary looked down, saddened by the thought of Rhoda's illness and its inevitable outcome. "It's so strange that for so many years, you and I never spoke. Suddenly, you show up in my life again,and I wonder what I'll ever do without you."

"You'll be fine," Rhoda said immediately. "You've got other friends, Lou, Murray...Phyllis."

"I've kept in touch with Murray and Mr. Grant. Phyllis still sends me a Christmas card every year. I've been too busy with my work to really see them very often. But now all I want to do is tell them how much I love them."

Rhoda nodded. "I know what you mean. Before I came out here, Brenda wouldn't stop hugging me and telling me she loved me. I guess she figured she wanted to make sure she said it just in case I happened to drop dead while she was out of the room. I just didn't know how to deal with that. I think coming here was the right thing. I needed to see you again. And Brenda...well, I worry about her. I'm all she has now."

Mary thought about Rhoda's family. From the first time she'd met Mrs. Morgenstern, she'd been practically adopted as an honorary third daughter. Though Mary didn't officially meet Brenda in person until much later, she had seen a lot of Rhoda in the youngest Morgenstern child. Maybe, because of that, they could even be friends as well. "You're not all Brenda has. She's got me too," Mary said.

Rhoda hugged her best friend tightly. Mary had always been there to offer support and guidance whenever she'd needed it. Her little sister was definitely in good hands.

**The End**


End file.
